Extra Punctuation: The Exploitative Nature of Crafting in Video Games

Trends come and trends go, but the one thing all trends have in common is that they shouldn't go unexamined. I wish there'd been a bit more examination going on when everyone was into planking, or bell bottoms, or anti-Semitism. And in the light of recent paths the evolution of triple-A games have taken, I ask you this: what is it with crafting?